Rocketdyne Propulsion & Power The Boeing Company 886 History A.doc Page 1 4/25/00 A Radiological History of the Sodium Disposal Facility History and Operations:

non-radioactive metallic sodium and NaK (a mixture of sodium and potassium) from various scrap test components (pumps, valves, etc.). It was also used to treat non-radioactive waste sodium and NaK, and to burn non-radioactive combustible liquid waste (oils, etc.). The facility consisted of a large, rectangular, concrete-lined pit filled with water, surrounded by a concrete slab, plus two shallow water-filled, unlined basins or ponds, a small building (Building 4886) and steam lance cleaning equipment. The Sodium Disposal facility operated from 1956 to 1978. Components to be cleaned were placed on the slab, opened to expose the sodium or NaK, and then washed off with water. The water reacted with the sodium to generate hydrogen, which often burned in the air (hence the name 'burn pit'). The washed items were then often placed into the pit, where the reaction with water continued, and then removed from the pit and placed into one of the basins, where they were allowed to remain until any residual sodium and/or NaK was reacted. They were then retrieved and disposed of off-site as solid waste. The sodium-water and NaK-water reactions also generated sodium hydroxide an